Author: virginiacmccoy

Well, you may or may not have noticed that I have been missing. I am actually still here, but I have been busy with other things. As far as art goes, I have been busy with crocheting, reading (I consider it art…LOL), gardening (yep…art, too), and doing some coloring and writing with some young friends.

Crocheting:

I did a lot of crocheting in the first part of the year.

This is a little baby sweater which the pattern said would take a couple of hours. It took me a couple of days. LOL! (Actually, this is knitting! LOL! I just noticed this when I was about to post it.)

I started this blanket with scraps that I had collected over the years. I did not pay enough attention to the pattern as I was working it. It ended up using all my scraps before a quarter of the blanket was done and it became a queen-sized blanket. I was thinking lap blanket. LOL! What a dummy! I was just happily crocheting along and Ron actually went to Hobby Lobby and bought yarn for me. And Michael’s, too, I think…

Ron loved it so much that he requested I make one for him, but smaller. He said he wanted it all one color and plain. I told him that if I make it, it will be ART and colorful and interesting. He accepted my terms and I made him the following:

It is significantly smaller than mine:

I did allow him to pick out the colors, but I arranged them myself.

I made myself a bear. His name is Debonair Bear, NairBear for short.

I did not make all my crochet projects for myself. This was for my Mom for Mother’s Day. She cannot grow violets in their place, so I made her a pot of African Violets that she cannot kill. I hope not, anyway…

Sewing:

I decided that I would not be doing as much sewing as I have in the past, so I am giving my electric sewing machine and most of my supplies away. I am keeping Grandma’s treadle and I need to learn to use it. This bowl cozy was my first project. I made it from an old dress with an old towel as the padding. It made up nicely and it works great. We seem to use our microwave a lot more than we ever have… The cozy comes in handy. Ron uses a crocheted cozy. He likes that one better.

Garden:

I NEED a vegetable garden, even if it is small, so we got these garden beds on legs. I don’t have to bend down. They are so wonderful. I can fit quite a bit in them and I get my gardening fix.

I planted two Roma tomatoes, a few Romaine lettuce plants and lots of lettuce seeds, some radishes, some parsley plants, and some marigold seeds.

Mater Harvest

Pickled Radishes

Roses:

Need I say more?

This nest was in one of the front climbing roses. It was a mockingbird nest and it was just about waist level. I took this picture and a week later a bluejay (or somebody) destroyed the eggs. It was quite the bummer.

Coloring:

We have been blessed with some young friends who are taking care of our yard work for us. They do not drive, yet, so their mother brings them and the five younger children. I have been doing art with the young ‘uns. We have drawn, colored, and written poems and stories. It has been a lot of fun. I hope for all of us. These are just two of the pictures. I must admit that I LOVE coloring!

Stamp Collecting:

When I was about 12 years old, in Germany, I started a stamp collection. It was quite the collection by the time I left home to join the Navy. I left it and forgot about it. Over the years, I would think about it, but I never did any real searching for it. Recently, I was seriously thinking about it and found that it had been destroyed in a basement flood. Oh, well. I can start over. I told some friends about my stamp collecting and the husband told me that he had a tiny, insignificant little stamp collection that no-one seemed to want and he was willing to give it to me because I was so enthusiastic about it. Well! This is no insignificant little book. There are hundreds of wonderful stamps in this quite large book. I love it. And I am amazed that he would give it to me! What a treasure.

Health Issues:

In June, Ron started having a backache and then his neck started hurting. Finally, when his neck got really bad, he could not walk, and he got a fever, I called 911 and Ron was admitted to the hospital with an abscess on his spine at the base of his neck, a little bit of an abscess on the spine at his lumbar region, and a blood infection. It was a harrowing experience. He was in the hospital for a few weeks, and then in rehab for a couple of weeks, then on home health for a few weeks. He had surgery on his spine and it took at least two weeks before he could move his head side to side. He also had three bags of antibiotics every day for two months. He just recently stopped those and got his port out of his chest. He is weak, but much better. He was out of work for two months and just started back this past Tuesday. It tires him, but he is managing. Praise the Lord! It could have been much worse.

Celebrating his birthday in Rehab.

I have always wanted red hair, so I decided to go ahead and get a red wig. This one is actually heat resistant. I have issues with opening a hot oven door and scorching the front of the wigs. No more! LOL! I actually need a wig, still, because, although my hair has grown in, it is not like it was. Ron tells me that I have had a thinning spot for years. I did not know it. I’m glad I didn’t… But, now it is a definite bald spot and it is big. Hence, the wig and crocheted caps (more excuse to crochet…).

As for me, things are just tooling along. I still have cancer, but it seems to be very quiet. I get checked every three months. This last time, the cancer did not grow at all, but my blood numbers were slightly up. I am watching my diet, eating all plants, no oils, no sugar, etc. The doctor is actually interested in it, too. Hmmm…

I have rheumatoid arthritis and that causes quite a bit of pain and makes it difficult to walk or, on a particularly bad day, move much at all. I have been on steroids for a long time and dealing with stuff because of that (like bruised and bloody lower arms). I am also on a rheumatoid arthritis pill (don’t remember the name) and it causes vision problems, so I need to get to the eye doctor soon. Other than that, I keep going. Got things to do! LOL!

God is good to me, even though I don’t deserve any of his goodness.

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Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. — Luke 12:27

My second grade school picture has always been a favorite of mine, so I finally got around to doing something about it. Watercolor! LOL! Not, again? Well, yeah. I think I am enjoying it. Especially when I use the pencils. Have any of you ever tried watercolor pencils? You can use them with or without water. In this picture, I used them with water, then layered them dry on top of that.

When I was in second grade, we were living in Giessen, Germany. I remember playing house in the yard outside the classroom. I was the baby, so I had to be in the baby bed with my head on a pillow which consisted of an old stump. The stump turned out to be filled with ants! That was an adventure. I also remember a boy who sat under his desk and ate the paste out of the jar. That was a fun year.

That sailor dress must have been a sign of things to come. About ten years later, I was in the Navy.

I have been laid up with arthritis. It is mostly in my knee, but I think I feel it in my hip, also. I have an appointment with an ortho this week. My primary care doctor got an xray of my knee and said it was in need of a clean-out. Yuck! I wonder what that consists of… But, while I am sitting in my chair, taking pain pills, applying heat, and using my leg compression machine, I have been doing some needlework: a couple of baby sweaters and a phone bag. I find that I will finally make it to the bathroom on the other side of the house and then I hear the phone ring with a callback from a doctor or something. I don’t run anymore. So, I need to keep the phone with me. I don’t always have pockets, so I made this bag. I like it.

The pattern for this baby sweater said 6-9 months, but it looks a lot bigger than that to me. Of course, what would I know?

This baby sweater was supposed to be for a newborn, but it looks awfully big. Maybe it’s me… Anyway, it is made up of 38 granny squares. I think it turned out really nice.

Now, to get to work on a project I have been thinking about. I want to make tablecloths (doilies, coasters, whatever) for all our tables in the living room. We have two end tables, a middle table between our chairs, and a coffee table. They are all different styles and woods and I want them to match. So, I will try to crochet something… We shall see, eh?

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I know a baby, such a baby, --
Round blue eyes and cheeks of pink,
Such an elbow furrowed with dimples,
Such a wrist where creases sink.
"Cuddle and love me, cuddle and love me,"
Crows the mouth of coral pink:
Oh, the bald head, and oh, the sweet lips,
And, Oh, the sleepy eyes that wink!

-- Christina Rossetti

Yesterday, we had our big snow of the year, so I wanted to do some art, but nothing too difficult. Stupid me! I chose watercolors, which I always struggle with. I started with watercolor pencils, but forgot how they are to be used. I got frustrated and resorted to my pans. They didn’t work very well, either, so I gave up and went to bed. When I got up this morning, the whole thing looked a little brighter, so I finished up with the pencils. I like it after all. It is from an old photo I found online. Probably from the late 1800’s or early 1900’s.

The snow was lovely. We woke to a winter wonderland.

I know that most of you have this all the time and are yawning right now, but here in Huntsville it is a big deal. LOL!

It fell heavily for several hours, accumulating to about six inches. Then the temperature rose and it became sleet falling and overnight it became an ice sandwich. But, the temps are high enough right now that it is all slushy and will probably be gone by tomorrow.

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In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. — William Blake

This past year has been busy, painful, fun, and blessed. The Lord is good and has brought us through. I only did six portraits this year. I plan to do more this next year, but we will see. Also, I am planning to do more in acrylics and less oils and pastels. Mostly because of health and breathing problems. I have an air purifier in my studio now and will try to keep things much cleaner in there.

My last commission of the year was a pastel landscape of the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. It was large, 16×28, and on sanded paper. It was a success after a difficult start. I needed to order large paper and it came in twice with the same damage both times. The seller was wonderful about it, but it took time to get the replacements. In the meantime, I made a small study sketch to give me some idea of the colors. I believe it is 9×12 and it is on sanded paper.

Then I finally got my large paper and got started on it. It didn’t take me as long as I was afraid that it would. I was able to get it done in plenty of time for my clients to get it framed to give for Christmas. Everyone liked it. I’m glad. The final is below:

Books, books, books! I have been reading. Never fear, I will read until I absolutely cannot in any way, shape, or form. There are many ways to read. Audio books is one that I particularly like. But, I LOVE reading a regular old musty, dusty book that has been sitting on my shelf for a little while. My old friends…

I try to set a reading goal in Goodreads every year. This past year my goal was 50. I read 118. Or at least that is what I remembered to document. LOL! Some of the nifty new books that I read were:

Victoria: The Young Queen by Monica Charlot (Very interesting, but took me a little time to read it.)

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (I have had it on my shelves for many years and was afraid to read it, because I thought it would go so far over my head that I would feel like a fool. Well! Of course, it was very readable and very wonderful. I highly recommend it.)

Happy Trails: The Story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans — Autobiography (It was very interesting and revealing. Of course, that is what autobiographies do, is reveal. They were very interesting people and had their troubles, but they trusted the Lord through it all.)

R. C. Sproul: A Life by Stephen J. Nichols (The first biography of the great theologian. So good! If you love him, you will love this book.)

Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan by Micheal K. Deaver (Very good. She is one of those people that I admire from a distance. I would not have wanted to be close to her.)

The Family Treasury of Children’s Stories, Book 1 Edited by Pauline Rush Evans (I LOVED this book! So many good stories, but also poetry. Below is one of my many favorites from this book:)

The Tale of Custard, The Dragon
by Ogden Nash

Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
and a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink,
And the little gray mouse , she called her Blink
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard.

Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes.

Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chased lions down the stairs,
Mustard was as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard cried for a nice safe cage.

Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful,
Ink, Blink, and Mustard, they rudely called him Percival.
They all sat laughing in the little red wagon
At the realio, trulio, cowardly dragon.

Belinda giggled till she shook the house,
And Blink said, "weeek!" (which is giggling for a mouse),
Ink and Mustard rudely asked his age
When Custard cried for a nice safe cage.

Suddenly, suddenly, they heard a nasty sound,
And Mustard growled, and they all looked around.
"Meowch!" cried Ink, and "Ooh!" cried Belinda,
For there was a pirate, climbing in the winda.

Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right,
And he held in his teeth a cutlass bright,
His beard was black, one leg was wood;
It was clear that the pirate meant no good.

Belinda paled, and she cried, "Help!  Help!"
But Mustard fled with a terrified yelp,
Ink trickled down to the bottom of the household,
And little mouse Blink strategically mouseholed.

But up jumped Custard, snoring like an engine,
Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon.
With a clatter and a clank and a jangling squirm
He went at the pirate like a robin at a worm.

The pirate gaped at Belinda's dragon,
And gulped some grog from his pocket flagon.
He fired two bullets, but they didn't hit,
And Custard gobbled him, every bit.

Belinda embraced him, Mustard licked him,
No one mourned for his pirate victim.
Ink and Blink in glee did gyrate
Around the dragon that ate the pirate.

Belinda still lives in her little white house,
With the little black kitten and her little gray mouse,
And her little yellow dog and her little red wagon,
And her realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

Belinda is as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chase lions down the stairs,
Mustard is as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage.

I read many more nifty books. If you want to see my whole list, get you up a Goodreads page and “friend” me. I am not on any other social media.

Some of my old friends that I re-read this past year (and probably for many other years) are:

The Anne of Green Gables Series by L. M. Montgomery

The Thrush Green Series by Miss Read

The Sackett Series by Louis L’amour

Emma by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon

So, what have you been reading? Anything that I should read? Reading is so subjective. You may love a book that I just can’t get into, but that is no reason not to share what we are reading. We may find something wonderful that will change our lives and become an old friend.

As for my health, right at this moment I am dealing with a sinus infection that I have had for about four months. My appointment with the ENT is this next Monday. My appointment with my oncologist is tomorrow. I am dealing with what I believe to be rheumatoid arthritis that was caused by the immunotherapy. My right leg is so swollen and painful that I am struggling to get around with a walker and using pain medication which I don’t want to do, but you do what you must to get along. Because of my pancreatitis, which has cleared up by now, I was taken off the immunotherapy about two months ago. We will see what Doc says tomorrow. It all could be much worse. I could get what I deserve. No, thank you. I am grateful for the mercy shown by my Lord! However, even after all that, I do struggle with depression and anxiety. God is good, though, in spite of me.

Please let me know how you all are doing.

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I have never known any distress that an hour’s reading did not relieve. — Montesquieu

I hope you are all snug and warm and not working too hard. Christmas is about Christ, after all. Rest in Him. Love him and love others.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! — Luke 2:14

Watercolor on 8×10 watercolor paper, digitally enhanced.

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O Jesus, Jesus, dearest Lord!
Forgive me if I say,
For very love, Thy sacred Name
A thousand times a day.

I love Thee so I know not how
My transports to control;
Thy love is like a burning fire
Within my very soul.

Jesus, hear me call Thy Name!
O Jesus, hear my prayer!
Come and sit with me, my Lord!
Let me adore Thee there.

-- Christina Rosetti (The Divine Savior)

“ Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” — John 8:12 ESV

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” — Psalm 27:1 ESV

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

Thanking God for the light: Jesus Christ.

Acrylics on 11×14 stretched canvas.

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We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. — Plato

I am still on my never-ending quest to paint loosely. It is getting easier, because I am shaky and unable to hold onto my brush very well. LOL. This is a glass of grape tomatoes and one of my old books. I took this photo a couple of years ago, in Florida. Acrylics on 8×10 stretched canvas.

It is not anything near being able to be called a harsh winter, here, but I do wish the days were a little longer…

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There’s nothing better than curling up with a good book and sitting in front of the fire on winter evenings. — Leo Sayer

I have been working on a landscape commission, which I cannot show until after Christmas. It was a BIG pastel picture. It is done and is now with the one who commissioned it. Yay!

So, because of my most recent health issues, I need to lay off the pastels for a while. I wanted to do the following with pastels, but decided to give it a try with acrylics. I like it. It was fun, also. And no worries about breathing in the pastel dust. Double yay!

This is an 8×10 stretched canvas.

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I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

-- Robert Frost (Selection from his poem "Birches")

I did a drawing of the brother of Beautifully Plump. It is graphite and white charcoal on sand-textured paper. It took me a long time. I have been having issues. My cancer markers were slowly going up. I went back on immunotherapy and began having side effects. Now, my cancer markers got so high that the doctor ordered another PET scan. It showed a spot on my lymph nodes and my pancreas lit up. He said that immunotherapy sometimes inflames the pancreas and that the pancreas. I had been having nausea and pain, but did not think of the pancreas. I am on steroids, waiting to get in to see a GI doctor, and trying to leave it all with the Lord. He is good! He loves me! And he works all things for my good according to his perfect will.

I am working on a commission of a landscape. I am excited. I hope I finish it soon.

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When I am grown to man's estate,
I shall be very proud and great.
And tell the other girls and boys,
Not to meddle with my toys.

Robert Louis Stevenson